JP2803984B2 - Substrate light irradiation equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display,
A substrate such as a substrate for an optical disc is supported on a heating plate having a heating unit to a required temperature, and the substrate is subjected to a required light irradiation process by a light irradiation unit disposed above the substrate. The present invention relates to a substrate light irradiation processing apparatus, and particularly to a substrate light irradiation processing apparatus in which light irradiation means inevitably generates heat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As this type of substrate light irradiation processing apparatus,
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-215265, an ultraviolet lamp composed of a high-pressure mercury lamp is provided above the substrate as light irradiation means, and the substrate coated with photoresist is heated to a required temperature by a heating plate. It is known that a photoresist film is reinforced by irradiating ultraviolet rays.

[0003]

However, in such a substrate light irradiation processing apparatus, generation of heat rays from light irradiation means such as an ultraviolet lamp cannot be avoided, and the substrate and the periphery of the substrate are heated. . Such an undesired phenomenon is caused by the fact that it is practically impossible to obtain a light source that emits only the required light rays without generating heat rays. Since it is not easy to narrow down to a large irradiation area, light irradiation is partly caused by setting a larger area than the substrate as the irradiation area.

As described above, of the undesired phenomena of heating the substrate and the periphery of the substrate, the fact that the substrate is heated can be solved by taking measures such as controlling the heating of the heating plate in anticipation thereof. Although not particularly hindering, the phenomenon of heating the periphery of the substrate hinders the uniformity of processing as follows. That is, when the vicinity of the outer periphery of the substrate becomes hot, the heating plate receives the heat therefrom, so that the temperature distribution becomes non-uniform and the in-plane uniformity of the process is impaired.

In the case where a plurality of substrates are continuously irradiated with light, a portion of the upper surface of the heating plate below the substrate receives heat from the light irradiating means. Is heated by the light irradiating means and heat is stored each time the processing is performed, so that the temperature increases as the number of processed sheets increases, and the non-uniformity of the temperature distribution increases as described above for each substrate, and The heat history differs for each.

[0006] In particular, when the temperature around the substrate is heated to a temperature exceeding the temperature of the heating plate heated to the temperature required for processing, the substrate is also heated from the periphery of the substrate, and excessively near the edge of the substrate. Until it is heated to
Both the in-plane uniformity of processing and the uniformity between substrates are extremely impaired.

Incidentally, in order to solve these problems, for example, as disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-215265,
The present inventors also considered incorporating a cooling means inside the heating plate, but in such a technique, without hindering the substrate from being heated and maintained at a required temperature, the substrate was irradiated with heat rays from the light irradiation means. It was difficult to eliminate only the heating of the surroundings, and it was difficult to improve the processing uniformity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and does not hinder the substrate from being heated by a light irradiating means without preventing the heating plate from heating and maintaining the substrate at a required temperature. It is an object of the present invention to improve the uniformity of processing between substrates to be continuously subjected to light irradiation processing and the in-plane uniformity of processing on individual substrates.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a heating plate having heating means, the upper end surface of which serves as a heating surface for supporting and heating a substrate; In a substrate light irradiation processing apparatus comprising a light irradiating unit arranged above, and in a state where the substrate is heated to a required temperature by a heating plate, light from the light irradiating unit is irradiated to the substrate
Cooling means having an annular cooling surface surrounding the heating surface of the heating plate is provided separately from the heating plate.

[0010]

According to the structure of the substrate light irradiation processing apparatus of the present invention,
When the substrate is heated by the heating plate, heat generated by unnecessary heat rays generated from the light irradiation means is absorbed by the annular cooling surface of the cooling means provided around the substrate. by this,
This eliminates the non-uniform temperature distribution of the heating plate due to the periphery of the substrate being heated by the heat rays received from the light irradiation means. For this reason, the temperature of the heating plate can be maintained at a desired temperature with a uniform temperature distribution.

Further, even when a plurality of substrates are continuously processed, since the periphery of the substrates is cooled by the cooling means, heat due to heat rays from the light irradiation means does not accumulate around the substrates. Can be heated in the same state between the substrate that has been processed and the substrate in the middle. For this reason, the heat history between the substrates is constant,
Processing uniformity between substrates is also high.

Further, since the cooling means is provided separately from the heating plate, the cooling means does not take heat from the heating plate by heat conduction. The substrate can be heated without impairing the temperature uniformity of the temperature distribution.

[0013]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall vertical sectional view showing a first embodiment of a substrate light irradiation processing apparatus according to the present invention.
A substrate cooling device 2 is provided below the inside, and a substrate light irradiation processing device 3 is provided above the substrate cooling device 2.

The substrate cooling apparatus 2 is provided with a cooling plate 5 provided in a processing chamber 4 and a substrate supporting pin 7 provided to be able to move up and down through a through hole 6 formed in the cooling plate 5. The substrate W is loaded and unloaded by a substrate transfer robot (not shown) in the raised state, and the substrate support pins 7 are lowered, whereby
The substrate W can be placed and supported on the cooling plate 5. Although not shown, an air cylinder is operatively connected to a support member 8 integrally holding the substrate support pins 7.
The substrate support pins 7 are moved up and down by the expansion and contraction of the air cylinder.

The substrate light irradiation processing apparatus 3 includes a processing chamber 9
A heating means such as a plate heater 10 is provided with a heating plate 12 sandwiching an aluminum heat transfer plate 11a and a heat insulating plate 11b, and is formed on the heating plate 12 as in the substrate cooling device 2. Through hole 13
The substrate support pins 14 are provided so as to be able to move up and down. The substrate W is loaded and unloaded by a substrate transfer robot (not shown) with the substrate support pins 14 raised, and the substrate support pins 14 are lowered. By doing so, the loaded substrate W is placed and supported on the heating plate 12, and is heated at a high temperature (for example, 300 ° C. to 350 ° C.). Although not shown, an air cylinder is operatively connected to a support member 15 integrally holding the substrate support pins 14.
… Is configured to move up and down.

Above the heating plate 12, an ultraviolet lamp 16 serving as a heat source, a lens 17, and a shutter 18 are provided.
The substrate W is irradiated with ultraviolet rays in a state where the substrate W is heated to a required temperature by the heating plate 12, so that a reaction such as curing of a resist occurs. The ultraviolet lamp 16 corresponds to the “light irradiation means” according to the first aspect.

As shown in the plan view of FIG. 2 and the exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, the heat transfer plate 11a has a quadrangular shape in plan view, and has an upper side protruding in a columnar shape. The upper surface of 12a is formed on the heating surface H with an area equal to or slightly larger than the substrate W. A small amount of protrusions 19 are provided on the pedestal portion B around the lower end side of the columnar portion 12a at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction, and have an annular cooling surface C surrounding the heating surface H of the heating plate 12. A water-cooling jacket 20 as cooling means is mounted on the projections 19 with a gap from the upper surface of the pedestal portion B.

In a device for a semiconductor wafer having a diameter of 6 inches, the diameter of the heating surface H is formed to be 160 mm, and the inner diameter of the cylindrical hole 20a of the water cooling jacket 20 into which the columnar portion on which the heating surface H is formed is to be fitted. Is formed to 162mm,
The horizontal outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 12a of the heating plate 12 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical hole 20a are provided with an interval of 1 mm.
The height of the projection 19 is formed to about 1 mm, and the water cooling jacket 2 is formed.
For example, water having a water temperature of 25 ° C. may flow at 0.5 to 1.5 liters per minute.

With the above configuration, when the substrate W is heated by the heating plate 12, the substrate W
Is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and at the same time, cooling by the water cooling jacket 20 is performed, and heat generated by unnecessary heat rays generated from the ultraviolet lamps 16 is directly absorbed by the annular cooling surface C.
The surroundings are prevented from rising. Further, since the heating plate 12 has substantially the same size as the substrate W, it hardly receives a heat ray emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 16 and receives no extra heat, so that the temperature of the heating plate 12 heats the substrate W. The desired temperature is maintained.

As described above, it is possible to prevent the surroundings of the substrate W from being heated to a high temperature and to prevent the heating plate 12 from being heated by the ultraviolet lamp 16. Heating can be performed with high uniformity in-plane distribution, and even when a plurality of substrates W are continuously heated, the thermal history between the substrates can be kept constant, and each substrate W can be heated in a plane. Processing can be performed with high uniformity of internal distribution, and processing can be performed even between substrates.

Further, since the water cooling jacket 20 is provided with a gap between the water cooling jacket 20 and the heating plate 12, the water cooling jacket 20 does not need to give a cooling effect to the heating plate 12, and the heating plate 12 Substrate W without impairing
Can be heated. Therefore, the periphery of the substrate W can be cooled without disturbing the uniformity of the temperature distribution in the plane of the substrate W.

The substrate W, which has been processed at a high temperature by the substrate light irradiation processing apparatus 3 as described above, is thereafter cooled by the substrate cooling apparatus 2 to a target temperature.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the second embodiment, in which a portion of the heating plate 12 below the pedestal portion B of the heat transfer plate 11a is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the water cooling jacket 20 is also formed. It has a donut shape. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the third embodiment, and shows the heat transfer plate 11a in the first and second embodiments.
The heating plate 12 is entirely formed in a columnar shape, and the water cooling jacket 20 is also formed in a donut-shaped column shape in plan view. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing the fourth embodiment.
And a heat exchanger 22 is interposed in the middle of the circulation pipe 21, and a pipe 23 for supplying cooling water is connected to the heat exchanger 22.

In the case of the fourth embodiment, since the boiling point of silicon oil is higher than that of water, there is no risk of boiling during cooling. For example, the temperature of silicon oil supplied from the heat exchanger 22 By setting the temperature to 200 ° C., there is an advantage that the amount of heat to be removed can be easily adjusted, for example, by reducing the cooling rate. On the other hand, if cooling is performed by flowing water as in the first to third embodiments, there is an advantage that the heat exchanger 22 as in the fourth embodiment is unnecessary and the configuration is simplified.

The cooling medium described above is not limited to water and silicone oil, but various media such as various liquids, gases, and refrigerants that cause a gas-liquid phase change can be applied.

Further, in the above embodiment, the heating surface H and the cooling surface C are configured to be substantially flush. However, if there is no trouble in carrying in / out the substrate W, the cooling surface C is heated. The cooling surface C may be higher than the surface H, or the cooling surface C may be slightly lower than the heating surface H.

In the above embodiment, the substrate light irradiation processing device 3 is provided above the substrate cooling device 2.
The present invention can be applied to various types such as those dedicated to the substrate light irradiation processing device 3 or those provided with the substrate light irradiation processing devices 3 in multiple stages.

In the above embodiment, the substrate W is directly mounted on the heating plate 12 and supported. For example, a hole having a predetermined depth and a bottom is provided on the heating surface H of the heating plate 12. A plurality of holes are formed, and ceramic balls having a diameter of several hundred microns larger than the depth of the holes are fitted into the holes, the substrate W is placed on the ceramic balls, and the heating plate 12 and the substrate W
The substrate W may be supported in a state where a predetermined minute gap, that is, a so-called proximity gap is maintained.

Further, in the above embodiment, the ultraviolet ray lamp 16 is provided above the substrate, and the substrate coated with the photoresist is heated to a required temperature by the heating plate 12 and irradiated with ultraviolet rays so that the photoresist film is formed. Although the case where the present invention is applied to the substrate light irradiation processing apparatus for strengthening is described, the present invention is not limited to the processing apparatus for subjecting such a photoresist film to the strengthening processing. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the ultraviolet lamp but also to a processing apparatus using other light irradiation means such as a visible light lamp. Further, the substrate W to be processed is not limited to the semiconductor wafer coated with the photoresist as in the above embodiment.

The substrate light irradiation processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described circular substrate W, but can be applied to a substrate that heats a square substrate.

[0034]

As described above, according to the substrate light irradiation processing apparatus of the present invention, the substrate is heated to a required temperature by the heating plate, and the substrate is irradiated with the light from the light irradiation means disposed above. In performing the light irradiation treatment, the cooling means having the annular cooling surface is provided so as to surround the heating surface on the upper end surface of the heating plate, so that the periphery of the substrate is heated by heat generated by the heat rays emitted from the light irradiation means. The heating plate does not receive the heat from the periphery of the substrate, and the heating plate does not have an uneven temperature distribution.The heating plate can heat the substrate with a highly uniform in-plane distribution, and the in-plane uniformity of processing on each substrate High in nature.

Further, even when a plurality of substrates are continuously processed, since the periphery of the substrates is cooled by the cooling means, heat due to heat rays from the light irradiating means does not accumulate around the substrates. The substrate that has been processed as described above and the intermediate substrate can be heated in the same state. For this reason, the heat history between the substrates is constant,
Processing uniformity between substrates is also high.

Further, since the cooling means is provided separately from the heating plate, the cooling means does not take heat from the heating plate by heat conduction. The substrate can be heated without impairing the temperature uniformity of the temperature distribution.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall longitudinal sectional view showing a first embodiment of a substrate light irradiation processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Plate-shaped heater as a heating means 12 ... Heating plate 16 ... Ultraviolet lamp as a light irradiation means 18 ... Water cooling jacket as a cooling means C ... Cooling surface H ... Heating surface W ... Substrate

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Mitsuhashi 322 Hashizushi Furukawa-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Nakusai Plant (56) References JP-A-4-321217 (JP, A) Kaihei 3-228312 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H01L 21/027 H01L 21/324

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A heating plate having a heating means, an upper end surface of which serves as a heating surface for supporting and heating the substrate; and a light irradiating means disposed above the substrate, wherein the substrate is required by the heating plate. In a substrate light irradiation processing apparatus configured to irradiate the substrate with light from the light irradiation unit in a state where the temperature is set to a temperature, a cooling unit having an annular cooling surface surrounding a heating surface of the heating plate, the heating plate and A substrate light irradiation processing device, wherein the substrate light irradiation processing device is provided with a space between the substrates.